Software Engineering student, Osama shares his experience

Originally from Italy, Osama came to the United Kingdom to study computing after developing a civil engineering background. He attended numerous university open day events across the country. However, he was particularly impressed with the level of enthusiasm and supportive nature of the teaching staff at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), along with the positive student feedback the course had gained.

Once started on the BSc (Hons) Software Engineering course, Osama was worried whether his lack of programming skills would cause performance issues. Thankfully, UCLan offers a vast array of support designed to get new students up to the required level if they have no prior programming knowledge. He initially attended the one-hour dedicated support session on programming for beginners, where he grasped the core concepts, learning quickly from the high-quality teaching offered:

When Osama joined UCLan, he had a limited ability to speak and write in English. Fortunately, he had no issues with understanding the tutors as they spoke clearly. Sometimes he struggled to understand his peer's accents as the course recruits students from all over the world. In the first semester, Osama started to feel defeated by the language barrier. Considering giving up, his tutors recognised Osama’s worries and encouraged him to carry on. They provided extra support both within the computer science department and other student support areas the University offers. 

Osama's leading decision-maker for choosing UCLan was the option students have available to swap computing-related courses at the end of their first year. All UCLan computing courses are taught a common first year, giving them an overview of everything the subject offers. This includes network technology, games development, cyber security and software engineering. Students can decide to continue to specialise in their original chosen area, or if they have found a more exciting path, switch to study their remaining years in another area of computing. This gives students the flexibility to change their mind and discover their interests with less pressure to get it right in the application stage.